Release the inner cave man!

Relaxing by the river, cruising the canal and strolling through the old town. These are the images that come to mind when you tell someone that you escaped the hectic city life of Ottawa and come to Gananoque and the 1000 Islands for a get away. I’ve had a few days of relaxing and general wondrousness of all the natural beauty of the area but I’m starting to feel the need to let out some steam and what better way to burn off some adrenaline than paintball at Ground Zero Paintball. Time to let my inner animal loose. Grrrrrr…

Ground Zero Paintball is just a short 10 minute drive from DT Gananoque and worth it. Cody conscripted 4 of his good friends to join us and as luck would have it the weather was not looking good. in fact it was pouring rain but that wasn’t about to stop us weekend warriors.

I have to honest I’ve never actually done anything like this before. Part of me is very excited as I had a wicked imagination as a child and loved playing all sorts of fantasy role games were strategy and skill won the day. The other part of me is freaking out as I’m not sure if the paintballs hurt or if I actually be any good. Time to suck it up as I won’t know until I try.

We gear up and get a lesson on how to operate the paintball gun. Rules of the course and most importantly safety instructions. I’m starting to get excited and I can feel the smack talk start to percolate in my throat. Yup I’m excited.

We are good to go. We split up into teams and choose the first of four courses available to us. First up the Urban City course.

It was not at all what I expected. Safety was the #1 priority and the course marshal was with us every second. I’m sorry to report I was the first one out. Apparently having your helmet show above the hood of a car is not a good hiding tactic. That’s ok we have have three more courses to explore.

It was hard to photograph and play at the same time so here are a few photos from Ground Zero that show some of the courses we played in sunshine.

This was AWESOME and I was terrible to boot!!!! My helmet kept fogging up because of the rain so it was hard to see but what a blast we all had. Physically it’s a challenge as you have to sprint, crouch and at times stay very still. Mentally you’ve got to be aware at all times. You’ve got to silently communicate and strategize with your team mates and most importantly you have to stay alive.

For our last round we went ballistic and basically played until all the paintballs in our clips were emptied.

This might not be for everyone but seriously it was so much fun and while the paintballs can sting a little if they hit the right spots none of the nervousness I had at the beginning was warranted. It’s just a game and meant to be fun. I think this is a great option on a day when you’ve a little bit of extra energy in your system and you are looking for something a little different than the every day tourist experience. Who knows maybe you are General Patton in training, you’ll never know until you try.

The weather is looking good for my last couple of days in Gananoque for 30 Days In Ottawa which has me excited because I’ve been told that tomorrow we are really going to see the Islands up close and personal. I can’t wait.